Brindisi, Griffo secure state funding to fix Chenango Road Bridge

A local bridge that connects Utica and New Hartford and is prone to flooding will be getting some much needed repairs, thanks to the help of state funding.

Posted: Nov 20, 2017 12:42 PM

Updated: Nov 21, 2017 9:44 AM

Posted By: WKTV

A local bridge that connects Utica and New Hartford and is prone to flooding will be getting some much needed repairs, thanks to the help of state funding.

State Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi of Utica and State Sen. Joseph Griffo of Rome announced on Monday that $250,000 in state funding has been secured to help stabilize the Chenango Road Bridge that crosses the Sauquoit Creek between Utica and New Hartford.

The funding will be used to repair erosion and minor damage to the bridge that was caused by flooding in July.

At the end of October, the Chenango Road Bridge was temporarily closed as a precautionary measure during heavy rain. At that time, New Harford Highway Superintendent Richard Sherman said it was up to the town to pay the hefty price tag to fix the bridge, which had just been replaced in 2015-2016.

“Thousands of cars a day go over this bridge, as Senator Griffo said. New York Mills, the village and the town [of New Hartford], and the city of Utica – this connects everybody together, along with the utility trucks out of National Grid, my trucks, our highway garage uses this route constantly, so it is used quite a bit,” Sherman said.

Officials said they hope to have the repairs made before next spring when the potential for flooding is much greater.